The men’s golf team at Iowa State may not be the most well-known, prestigious, or most commercial, but it is certainly are one of the ISU programs on the rise.

In the 2009-2010 season, Iowa State was led by arguably its best player, Ben Herrera. Throughout his career, Herrera set a number of marks that put his name in the ISU record books the all-time leader in stroke average and second in single-season stroke average.

After losing a program-leading player like Herrera, it can be tough for a team to reload easily. This year’s ISU men’s golf team hasn’t lost too much.

Iowa State has three team finishes in the top three of the field for 2010-2011. Junior Nate McCoy earned the individual victory and medalist honors at the VCU Shootout in the fall. On top of that, the team set the 54-hole school record in the spring at the Desert Shootout.

Some new faces that have led the Cyclones are McCoy, who had a 73.62 stroke average in the 2010-2011 season. Sophomore Borja Virto has also stepped up and been a leader on the team. In the spring Virto led the Cyclones in four of the last five tournaments including the prestigious Big 12 Championships to end the season.

The coaching staff also was brand new in the 2010-2011 season. New coach Andrew Tank was accompanied to the job by new assistant coach Patrick Datz. Tank spent his last eight seasons as the associate coach at the university of Minnesota, and even was the captain of the 2002 team for the Gophers.

Datz is also from the University of Minnesota. Datz was a member of the 2006 team that placed third at the NCAA Championships, and also a part of the 2007 team that won the 2007 Big Ten title. After graduating with a masters in applied kinesiology, Datz had a short stint as a pro and competed in several events on the Dakota Tour and Gateway Tour.

As for the 2011-2012 season, the Cyclones added a trio of standout recruits from their respected areas. One of those three recruits is the Collin Foster. To wrap up Foster’s impressive career, he won the 4A state individual title by five shots. 

Another recruit is Scott Fernandez. Fernandez has been a member of the Spanish National Team since 2007, and is ranked as the No. 2 U-18 player in Spain.

The last recruit is Duncan Croudis. He has compiled an undefeated record the last three years, and was the medalist in his homeland in the U-19 New Zealand Championship.

Going into the 2011-2012 season, the Cyclones not only add two outstanding recruits, but also return four starters from the 2010-2011 team.